Dr. Verdoorn has more than 26 years of experience working with both public and private pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to develop new treatments for neurological diseases, including five years working with Bristol-Myers Squibb's stroke group and as the former Chief Scientific Officer for several private life sciences companies. Dr. Verdoorn earned his PhD in Neurobiology from the University of North Carolina, conducting his post-doctoral research at the Max Planck Institute with Nobel Laureate Dr. Bert Sakmann, served as Associate Professor of Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and is the author of numerous publications and patents. Dr. Verdoorn was formerly Vice President of Neuroscience with DiaMedica.

"We are delighted to appoint Dr. Verdoorn to the role of Chief Scientific Officer. His significant experience and expertise in drug development will further strengthen our team in advancing our focus of acute ischemic stroke, in addition to pursuing other potential indications and products," said Rick Pauls, President & CEO.

"I am excited for the expanded opportunity to help develop Diamedica's strong pipeline of therapies for poorly treated diseases in neurology and other critical disease areas," said Dr. Verdoorn.

About DiaMedica

DiaMedica is a publicly traded clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel treatments for vascular diseases, including stroke and metabolic and kidney dysfunction. DiaMedica's common shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol "DMA" and on the OTCQB under the trading symbol "DMCAF".

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

The statements made in this press release that are not historical facts contain forward-looking information that involves risk and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, which address DiaMedica's expectations, should be considered forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on management's exercise of business judgment as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management. When used in this document, the words "may", "will", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend" and words of similar import, are intended to identify any forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, the Company's objectives, goals, future plans and statements regarding the use of proceeds from the private placement. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information described in detail in the DiaMedica's filings with the Canadian securities regulators, all of which are available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. DiaMedica undertakes no obligation, and does not intend, to update, revise or otherwise publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of any unanticipated events, unless required by law. Although management believes that expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, no assurance can be given that these expectations will materialize.

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